As a healthcare consumer, we all have the right to quality care when accessing our healthcare system. There are tools out there to see how the institutions around you perform. By accessing the government website at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov, you can compare up to three hospitals on certain key markers of care to help make a decision where you want to go. Here are a few of the key indicators that the government monitors and that they will adjust Medicare payments based on.

How well is your pain controlled?

No, it isn’t possible for your pain to be totally eliminated in many instances, but the staff and physicians should make every effort to assess your pain and do their best to keep it controlled. The staff response time to respond to your calls is important here.

How often did your nurse communicate with you?

Communication is a two way street. By definition, for communication to occur, there needs to be an original interaction followed by a confirmation that the message was received. Although communication is not always spoken, in this case, that is what we are talking about. Is that nurse communicating with the patient AND the family regularly, clearly, and in a method that is easily understood. How often do we in the healthcare field tell a patient or family something and assume that is communication? In order for communication to occur, the patient or family must have the opportunity to respond. Here is an example. You tell me your preference.

“Mrs. Smith. This is a hospital gown. I need you to put it on.”

Or

“Mrs. Smith, my name is Beverly and I will be your nurse today. I need you to put on this hospital gown. I know it is a little uncomfortable but it is necessary so that we are able to provide care for you without having to have you get undressed each time. The way it fits allows us to attach the monitor leads from your heart monitor easily and makes sure that they stay attached. Do you need any help or have any questions?”

How often did your doctor communicate with you?

Many hospitals struggle with this area because most physicians are independent caregivers that use the hospital’s services. The hospital has little control over their bedside manner and communication methods and skills. Look for high scores here that indicate that the physicians are involved in the customer service program for the hospital.

Did you find your room and bathroom clean?

Many hospitals are trying to use the hospitality industry (hotels) as a benchmark for cleanliness and room appearance.

You will also find critical information on how your hospitals treatment of specific illnesses benchmark against each other. Readmissions after discharge for heart attacks and pneumonia are highly scrutinized as markers for care.

It is EXTREMELY important to be aware that the information you are looking at is 15 months old. Thus, if you look at the data for your facility, it is outdated. This requires extra homework on your part. I suggest that you call the facility that you are considering and see what current program that they have in place to measure patient satisfaction. There are several including Custom Learning Systems who utilize an in-depth survey sent to all patients and being as current as 30 days. Gallup also has a similar system and there are others. If the hospital has no system in place, I would be concerned that there are also no systems in place for continual improvement of their services. If they tell you that they are Joint Commission accredited, it doesn’t mean a whole lot toward the satisfaction in day to day activities. Joint Commission does surveys every three years so really does not provide information that is current and useful.

Access the site and see the other areas that are measured as a way of comparing institutions.  Make educated decisions based on what you see. If you don’t like a hospital, you have choices. You make the decision, not your physician. Take charge of your healthcare and help those of us responsible for your healthcare be accountable for what we do.

Stuart

Treasured Pasts